February Boost in Arizona Gambling Revenue from Sports

Last year was a record-breaking year for Arizona sportsbooks. However, the first two months of 2024 look like this year will be even better. Arizona lags behind other states regarding releasing its sports betting numbers, but the Arizona Department of Gaming report for February looks promising.

The handle was up slightly compared to 2023, with $637 million wagered in the month. The big difference was in the Arizona gambling revenue from sports, which was up more than 50% compared to last year.

Revenue for the month was a shade over $53 million, but the sportsbooks were allowed to deduct just over $25 million in promotional bets. That left the adjusted gross revenue at $27,959,904. From that amount, 2,788,885.02 went to the state in privilege fees.

Arizona collects an 8% tax on adjusted revenue for wagers placed at retail locations. The tax on online wagers is 10%, although that’s where most of the wagers are placed. More than $631 million was bet online in February compared to $6.2 million in retail locations, which includes the $1.6 million bet through limited event operators.

As expected, February handle and Arizona gambling revenue from sports was down compared to January. All states have seen the drop-off due to the end of football season. Things have picked-up in March due to the NCAA Tournament, however, and Arizona will likely see an increase when March numbers are released.

Arizona has generated nearly $7.4 million in tax revenue for the first two months of the year. The state has made $76.6 million in tax revenue since sports betting was legalized.

FanDuel Still Top Dog in Arizona

FanDuel is usually at the top of the Arizona leaderboards regarding betting handle. February was no exception to the rule, with the sportsbook taking in $230.3 million worth of wagers in February. That led to profits of $19.7 million.

DraftKings wasn’t far behind in the No. 2 spot. DraftKings received $206.2 million in wagers, which yielded a profit of $19.2 million, which compared favorably with FanDuel considering the difference in handle.

There was a large gap to BetMGM, which took down the No. 3 spot with handle of $73.3 million and adjusted profit of $5.9 million. Caesar’s was No. 4 in betting handle, followed by ESPN Bet and Bet365.

Fanatics has started taking wagers in Arizona, although it didn’t begin until April. With February’s sports betting numbers just being released, it will likely be several more months until Fanatics’ influence on Arizona sports betting will be known.

The Arizona Department of Gaming doesn’t offer the detailed betting breakdowns some other states do. There is no way of seeing the amounts wagered on different sports. Parlay betting is extremely popular in many states and has surpassed spread betting for a number of bettors.

The outlook for Arizona is promising. The Arizona gambling revenue increase from sports betting compared to February 2023 was strong. Comparing year-to-year betting instead of month-to-month is a better indicator of where the market is. The month-to-month numbers will change depending on what sports are in season. The year-to-year figures are comparing February 2024 to February 2023. That way the same sports are used for betting tabulations.

For Gambling news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.

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